Beth Ferrier’s Blog

I envy those bloggers who seem to have an endless supply of fascinating topics. I’m not one of them. My life is pretty darn boring and average, and I must admit, I really like it that way.

Once the excitement of spring planting is past, we settle into the boring but gratifying task of maintaining the garden. I think it might be my ADHD, but I really like putting things in order. Mindless tasks, like pulling weeds, are perfect for settling my dizzy brain, giving ideas a chance to form and settle. But weeding the garden is a pretty boring topic for a blog post.

I’ve been working on virtual quilts for Northcott. It’s really kind of cool getting jpg files of fabric before it’s even printed. I use Corel Draw to cut it into pieces and assemble those pieces into a quilt, perfectly to scale. But I can’t show the designs to you until the fabric is printed and arriving in stores. More boring blog stuff.

I’ve also been working away at a series of three articles for Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine. Now that is way exciting for me. I’ve always thought that QN was one of the very best quilting magazines out there, all grown up, if you will. I’m so honored to have this opportunity. But I can’t show you the projects until the magazines come out. Boring.

So, all of this is a long way of saying that, yes, I’m still alive. Yes, I’m still working on stuff. But for now it’s blissfully boring.

Why is it that I never remember that I’m supposed to avoid sticky food until after the crown is rolling around in my mouth?

In my own defense, I chose the tootsie roll because the package said it was a fat-free food! While I refuse to be on a diet, I am trying to make less stupid food choices. Since I had hardly slept a wink (a common problem for me, especially when traveling) I just wanted a little energy boost to carry me through the rest of the workshop. I got one, only it wasn’t the sugar high I had hope for, but a rush of adrenalin as I retrieved the crown.

I have terrible teeth, terrible. Even though I brush and floss carefully, my teeth break, usually at the most inopportune times. I’m sure it has something to do with having no real dental care until I was a teenager, and my habit of clenching my teeth when I’m stressed. Over the years I’ve had nearly all of my teeth replaced with crowns. Sometimes I wonder what all that gold is worth.

Of course it couldn’t be a simple matter of just gluing the crown back in place. No, I broke it well and good. Only a root canal could repair the damage, so off to a specialist I went.

This guy was a real character, snowy white hair cropped short to his head, genial face. But, oh my, the fuss he made! Muttering good naturedly under his breath, almost talking to himself, he listed all the stumbling blocks to a good outcome. He did pause to admit (with a wink) that he is, indeed, very good at what he does, and isn’t that lucky for me.  In the end, all the harrumphing and complaining about how challenging it would be took longer than the proceedure.

Listening to the doctor and his helpers banter it was clear that they enjoyed their work. Their quiet confidence helped me to relax, and, believe it or not, I left the office smiling.  How I’ll feel when the anesthetic wears off remains to be seen.

The thing about a garden is that it’s never really done, and that’s a good thing. It’s all about the process, not the results. This is my rose garden, or at least the start of it. The concrete urn is new this year. I got it for a song. A corner of the base was broken off, a corner of the base that is hidden by the mulch, so they sold it to me at half price. Sold! It weighs a ton, but then that’s what we have boys for.

 The climbing roses are going great guns this year, their second in the garden. Looks like maybe by next year they will make it to the top of the trellis.

In the front garden, the lavender is just about to bloom. I love lavender. I love the fresh, clean scent. I love the bluish purply wands of color. I love the gray-green, spikey foliage. It seems to grow quite happily here, I have it in several places around the house.

My favorite lavender spot is in the garden along the path to the back door. It’s slightly overgrown its bed, gently brushing our legs as we return home, releasing its calming fragrance as a welcome.

Life is really pretty quiet around here, and I’m not complaining. I spend my days at the computer, designing virtual quilts to help advertise Northcott’s new fabric lines. Or puttering around the garden. Or doing everyday chores. Or just listening to the birds and savoring warm summer days. It’s good when life is slow, very good.

It’s been a long time in coming, but I’m finally in the home stretch, finishing my Now & Forever quilt. The top has been done for ages. It’s been layered and basted since January. Even the pattern is done, just waiting for a picture of the quilt for the cover. (I hope to have the pattern up on the web site by the weekend.) Life does have a way of coming between us and our quilting, even when quilting is our job.

I always start the quliting by stitching in the ditch around the applique, and usually around the blocks as well. It really helps them stand out against the background. It also helps to stabilize the quilt. I had a really hard time deciding on which quilting patterns to use. Even though I’m not a big fan of stippling, this quilt seemed to demand it. There’s just not a lot of room to develop a more complex pattern.

It would seem that I’ve once again quilted the snot out of it. (Technical term.) I didn’t mean to, but the more I quilted the more I wanted to quilt it.

It was fun using a variety of threads. For the flowers and pieced blocks I used variegated threads, 50 wt cotton, from Superior, Wonderfil and Aurafil. The background fill is poly from Floriani (beautiful stuff, looks like rayon, but with none of the problems of rayon).

My next job is to bind the quilt. I’m going to use the same gold print fabric used in the sashing. I’m listening to the latest book in J.D. Robb’s In Death series. Seems fitting to finish the quilt and the series together. After that? It’s time to write.